The Antulay Episode

For the past few days, television news time has been hogged by the statements of a septuagenarian loudmouth and its aftermath. Like on most other occasions where politicians cite national interest in their deeds, I chose to get around hearing what the activist junta of our land thinks about it. If you are wondering, I’m pointing to the same warmongers cum candle light vigil keepers lining the streets after the attacks in Mumbai. If you are one of them, then I suppose you wish you were not wondering!

Anyways what I gathered was a combination of ignorance and kneejerk-herd like reactions!

Before I go into what I make of the whole series of events here is a blow by blow account of it, assuming there might be more ignorance than reactions. Less than a week back, Union Minister and senior politician Mr A R Antulay, made a set of remarks on a martyred Police officer. Most of the political fraternity was aghast, the media did not quite know how to react and so had a bout of repeat-telecast syndrome while a family in downtown Mumbai quietly sulked at the thought of what was to come. The crux of the matter lies in these very reactions.

The way I see it, his remarks had two parts - a set of questions and a conclusion. If you judge by the letter, his statement wasn’t in contravention of any Indian law. The questions – “Why Mr Karkare went to Cama Hospital and not to the Taj or the Oberoi?” and “Who directed him to go there?” are not communal or inflammatory. They may be attributed to mere harmless inquisitiveness of an Indian citizen. But then he went on by concluding that because Mr Karkare was investigating the Malegaon blasts in which some Hindu elements were accused and because he was also facing death threats before the attacks, there could have been an ulterior hand in his demise – albeit at the hand of “Pakistani terrorists”.

It was here that he went wrong. He made his conclusions based on questions and doubts, not statements of fact. So the Minister was wrong in sending out such a communally loaded perception to the people of India. So the initial outcry in political circles is entirely justified. But the Indian media showed its ineptness at using the great power it wields. The headlines read –

“MARTYR MALIGNED” “KASAB’s ATTORNEY IS ANTULAY”

Such misreporting clubbed with the panic repeat-telecast syndrome – RTS made sure that the Pakistani establishment had a big fat stick to beat us with. This broke the crutch that was holding the “united polity” up. The opposition, which itself was instrumental in maligning Karkare a few days before his death, ironically, staged a ‘walkout’ in parliament. The government on its part sat on the rotten egg until it shared the slime. Then in a fit of delayed decisiveness, the Home minister called the episode regrettable, while the PM quipped – “To err is human!”
The opposition did not complete it - “To forgive Divine!” And hence they demand his resignation.

Not that I find the minister a fit case to run the country, infact it is quite to the contrary, but the point is, if he is sacked our detractors will say that the whistle-blower was silenced. That would mean giving them a chain and a pitchfork along with the earlier stick!! I suppose the only way out of this mess is to have Antulay say that the questions posed by him were answered to the fullest by the police and that his conclusion was unfounded.

Now in all this, that family I talked about, in downtown Mumbai, that of Mr. Hemant Karkare. The agony at the turn of events and the sheer irrelevance they must feel is beyond description. Maybe they've reconciled to the legacy of the man. When he was once asked why he chose to be a cop after doing engineering, he said his struggle in life was for fairness. Sadly, even in death the struggle is on.